Several authors that I follow will pause quarterly and build a 'What's Saving My Life Right Now' list. These lists allow for a simple acknowledgement of what brings joy, relief and fun in life for them in this season.
I picked up the practice and find it so helpful to purposely pause and identify these things for myself - a quick moment of gratitude. A dear friend and I have been trading these lists for awhile now and have loved it.
There are not rules here, simply logging things that are helping me win my days. For this season, here's what has been saving my life:
OrangeTheory workouts - the 60 minute, coach-lead, HIIT workouts push me more physically than I would push myself in a workout on my own. I do not have to research or figure out my plan for my workouts for the week. I just show up and sweat a ton. I can be totally present and focused; it's wonderful.
Children's antihistamines - our youngest son is experiencing some systemic allergy that we are in the process of understanding. He will undergo allergy testing in just a few weeks but until then, we have been relying on a couple of different "itchy medicines" to provide him some relief.
A freshly painted master bedroom - the aesthetics of my space matter more to me than I knew. Having my bedroom painted for the first time since we moved in 8 years ago brings me joy and puts my mind at ease.
Fairlife Protein Shakes - these are delicious (not gritty) and help me to keep up my protein intake daily. Chocolate is so good, I haven't even tried any other flavors...
New-to-us basketball goal - we were able to get a basketball goal for our boys from a nearby neighbor and I am so glad that we said yes. The boys pick up a ball right after school and shoot for a bit and I've already had a few good listening sessions with each of the boys. (Listening sessions look like me feeding a boy a ball for as long as he wants to shoot and just letting him talk about whatever is on his mind.)
The power of my community - I wrote about building community last week and I have seen the benefits of that shown to me in my current season. What a joy!
I wish that I took the time for formal gratitude journaling more regularly but this works for me - and I will keep it up.
Consider compiling your own 'what's saving my life right now' list just for yourself or share it with a friend for another way to connect. Maybe what's saving your life right now might help someone else win their day as well!
Comments